Thinking back from sophmore biology, there are 20 different amino acid groups your body needs, non-meat products can give you 14 of those, and the rest has to come from animal products. If you're not eating enough to resupply your muscles, that could explain why you're so sore. And, if I'm not mistaken, you cannot eat too much protein(however, eating something like Peanutbutter, which has a lot of excess fat, could remove the advantage you could render from the protein). Why I'm asking what a good diet would be on another thread :)

They're called essential amino acids. And you can get them from non-animal sources. But no non-animal source has complete protein (a protein that has all essential amino acids IN ADEQUATE AMOUNTS). But you can mix non-animal foods to get complete proteins. Beans and rice is a good example.

I'm experiencing trouble in two areas: sleeping without interruption, and having energy to get out of bed.

Now it should be said that while I've had problems sleeping in the past, this year, I've been trying to curb my bed- and wake-times to see if it would help. I was getting somewhere but I could swear that since I started Muay Thai in August, things have almost become worse than before. On days when I don't have to be up early (which are frequent) I set the alarm for 9 AM but almost inevitably get out of bed closer to 10:30 or 11. I'm that tired.

Two questions then. Number one: is bad sleep due to pain common for Thai boxers? I gather this is my problem, since my back and limbs are often aching when I hit the hay, even on nights when I haven't had practice. Number two: if pain is the reason, is there anything I can do aside from jamming my mouth full of Advil?

Depends on the location of the pain, limbs, torso, head, etc. They may be sports related. Look, Thai boxers and boxers in general don't have a particularly long life in such endeavors due to the punishing nature of the sport. So, there's little wonder your bodies protesting the abuse. You need only look what occurred with Mark Kerr and his career.

Kungfoolss, Scourge of the theory-based stylists, Most Feared man at Bullshido.com, and the Preeminent Force in the martial arts political arena

That's a good point, Kungfools. Everyone should refer to the recently posted clip of SCARS techniques for further edification. It would be hard to imagine that either of the demonstrators might ever suffer from the perils of hard, realistic training or excessive exercise.

Depends on the location of the pain, limbs, torso, head, etc. They may be sports related. Look, Thai boxers and boxers in general don't have a particularly long life in such endeavors due to the punishing nature of the sport. So, there's little wonder your bodies protesting the abuse. You need only look what occurred with Mark Kerr and his career.